


first and last

by freedomatsea



Series: Hell's Kitchen Universe Pieces [22]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Angst, Doggy Style, F/M, Missionary Position, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-08 22:51:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6878098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freedomatsea/pseuds/freedomatsea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>it's a night of firsts and lasts for karen and frank.</p>
            </blockquote>





	first and last

“I had it under control.” Karen snipped, giving Frank a sideways look. The streetlights outside the car barely illuminated his face, thanks to the ball cap he had pulled down over his forehead. “I didn’t need you saving the day.”

“That bruise around your neck tells another story.” Frank said lowly as he parked the car behind the abandoned warehouse he called home. Of course he wouldn’t take her back to her apartment. Even though she’d told him to.

Karen brushed her fingers over her neck, cringing a little at the sensitive skin she found there. It had been numb up until then, but it had been about an hour of driving around the city – trying to lose anyone that might have been tailing them – and it was starting to regain feeling. “You came in before I had a chance to react.”

Frank shot her a look. “Next time you go to talk to a source you bring back up.”

“I’ll run everything in my life by you _first_.” Karen rolled her eyes, staring out the window, her arms curled around her middle. “How long have you been following me?”

“Long enough.” Frank sighed heavily. “You take too many risks.”

“It would still be nice to know that the Punisher is stalking me.” Karen retorted, pushing the car door open and stepping out. “I thought we weren’t going to cross paths anymore.” She said over the top of the car as he clambered out.

“Yeah.” He said, giving her a brief look before he headed for the door to the warehouse. “Things change.”

Karen hugged her arms around herself tightly as she followed after him towards the door. “Have you followed me to _all_ of my meetings?”

Frank looked back at her over his shoulder, before pushing the door open and stepping into the darkness within. “Most of ‘em.”

Most of them meant _yes_ – Karen wasn’t an idiot. “Do you really think I can’t take care of myself? Is that what this is?” To be fair, she didn’t want to think about where she’d be right then if he hadn’t saved the day. But she refused to look like a damsel in distress. To him or anyone.

“I know you can take care of yourself.” Frank remarked, tugging on a light cord, a ray of dingy light illuminating the space around them.

“How long are you going to keep living in squalor?” Karen questioned, unable to hide her mild disgust in her surroundings. It wasn’t much. An old bed, with somewhat clean looking sheets, thrown onto an old wooden shipping pallet. There was a plethora of guns just beyond the point where the light reached.

Frank huffed. “I’ve lived in worse overseas.” He moved towards an old filing cabinet he was using as a bedside table, wrenching the drawer open to reveal a medical box. “Your hand.”

“What?”

Frank gave her a hooded look. “It’s hurt.”

Karen unclenched her hand, reminded of the pain she felt searing at her palm. She’d sliced it open on a piece of glass during the scuffle. “Right.” She breathed out, holding out for him as he approached. “It’s not that bad.”

Frank chuckled. “I know you’re tough Karen. But you don’t gotta be that way with me.”

“The same could be said about you.” Karen whispered, her eyes fixed on his face as he poured alcohol over her skin, making her hiss in pain. “You don’t have to be on the defense with me.”

He gave her a fleeting look. “I do.”

Karen frowned. “You think that wall of yours will protect you, don’t you?”

“It’ll protect _you_.” Frank informed her,

Karen inhaled sharply and she wasn’t sure if it was from the alcohol burning into her skin or his words striking her across the face. “Can’t you see I’m already good at getting myself hurt?”

Frank’s brows knit together as he finished wrapping her hand. “Not like that Karen.”

“I know exactly what you _mean_.” Karen pulled her hand away from him, looking down at his handiwork. “I should head back to my apartment.”

“You’re not going out there tonight.” Frank said firmly. “I ain’t letting you risk yourself. They could still be out there.”

Karen’s lips drew into a thin line. “ _Frank_.” She shook her head, swearing under her breath. “I can take care of myself. You get roughed up every night and you’re still out there. A little bruising and a cut hand isn’t the beginning of the end for me.”

Frank reached for her arm but she jerked away from his touch. “I know you can take care of yourself, but what about the day you can’t? You could have died tonight if I hadn’t shown up. You think that’s something I want to live with?”

Karen shook her head slowly. “No. But we can’t do this Frank. I can’t get myself caught up with you again. I already washed my hands clean of Matt and his Daredevil mess… I put you in the past.” She hated that she had too and she wondered if that was clear in her hesitant way of speaking.

“You still write about me though.” Frank reminded her, meeting her gaze. “If I’m really dead to you, why do you cover my stories?”

“Because Ellison assigns them to me.” Karen lied. He _did_ assign them to her, but it was because she wanted to write about him. “I don’t need you to be my hero, Frank.

Frank frowned. “I’m not a hero Karen.”

Karen opened her mouth to protest him, but she stopped herself. What was the point of telling him that she saw him as a hero if she was trying to convince him that she didn’t need his saving? She _wanted_ him around, but not if he was only there because he thought she needed protecting. Tonight was a fluke in a long line of managing just fine without a guardian angel of death. He didn’t know about Wesley – no one did. He knew she was capable of handling a gun and she’d hinted that she’d already pulled the trigger. But he didn’t know the full extent of it.

Karen raked her uninjured hand through her hair, letting out a heavy sigh. “If you’re gonna come back into my life, you can’t treat me like some porcelain doll you’ve got to protect. I’m so against that shit. I get myself into trouble and _most_ of them time I can get myself out of it.”

Frank smirked a little. “In comparison to me you _are_ a porcelain doll.”

Karen rolled her eyes. “Not really.” She took a cautious step towards him, planting her hand against his chest as she looked up at him. “I’m not as breakable as you think I am. I’ve been through hell and back and I’m only a little damaged.”

He lifted his hand to brush a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. His face was cast in the shadows, the dingy yellow light unable to reach beneath his ball cap. “You still got your wits about you though. You still _see_ with hopeful eyes.”

Her lips curved upwards a little. “They’re not as hopeful as you would think they are. I’ve got a big bullseye drawn on my back and I’m pretty certain my clock’s ticking down to my final hours.” Karen gave an empty laugh. “Fisk gets out in a little under a year and I’m trying to do as much as I can between now and then.”

“ _Fisk_? What’s he got to do with you Karen?”

“Aside from setting me up for murder, attempting to kill me, and all of that? Well, I killed his second in command and I have no clue if he knows it was me or not. But… I’m living on borrowed time.”

Frank’s hand curled around her hip, his eyes snapping to meet hers. “He’s not gonna touch you if I’m around. I’ve got dealings with him that need finishing.” His jaw set hard and he murmured something under his breath. “You’re gonna live a long _happy_ life Karen.”

“I’m not asking you to protect me.” Karen whispered, her lashes fluttering as she looked down to where his hand was at her hip. She liked the warm weight of his hand there, a strangely intimate touch.

Frank shook his head. “Well, I ain’t letting you die so call it something other than _protecting_.” His fingers tapped against her hip, his brows pinched together. Karen lifted her hand and removed his ball cap so she could see his face clearly. His nose had been broken again and his face was painted in various shades of bruising.

Karen chewed on her bottom lip before she decided to just go for it. She placed one hand on his shoulder, leaning in to kiss him before either one of them could protest. She wanted to _know_ what it was like to kiss Frank Castle. A first and probably last kiss. They both knew that there was something brewing between them. A quiet something that had little chance of becoming something _real_.

She wasn’t really in the position to be with anyone at the moment. Her job kept her busy – just the way she liked it – and to be with Frank Castle meant giving into that darker side of hers that she tried to keep at bay. But a kiss wasn’t commitment, it was acceptance that there was something there that neither one of them should have ignored.

Frank didn’t kiss her back at first, but then he surged into action, his mouth slanting over hers with an edge of desperation that stole Karen’s breath. His fingers wound through her hair, cradling the back of her head while his other hand remained at her hip, drawing her closer.

Karen pressed herself against him, molding her thin frame against his solid form, greedy for the warmth of his body in the cool warehouse.

The floodgates had been opened.

Frank wasn’t gentle with her and she loved it. He’d _finally_ listened to her about the fact that she wasn’t some fragile little thing. He was rough with her, his fingers tugging at her hair, fingers digging into her hip. She guided them backwards to the bed that she’d turned her nose up to before. Not this time though. She wasn’t walking away from this now.

His dark side didn’t scare her. It was her own that terrified her to the core.

Karen moaned against his lips as they fell back onto the bed, his weight pinning her down against the mattress. She wiggled her legs out from beneath his knees, spreading them to accommodate his weight there. It felt right. She had half expected this overwhelming sense of _wrong_ , but none of that was there.

“ _Fuck._ ” Frank swore as he dragged his lips along her jawline. Karen rocked herself against him, fingers winding through his short hair, scraping her nails over his scalp.

“Frank.” Karen whispered, tugging at his hair gently so he’d look at her. “I want you.” She told him. She _needed_ him. She could feel that low coil of desire burning in her stomach and it just had to be sated. “I _need_ you.” She urged, seeing that flicker of retreat in his eyes.

“Karen…” Frank shook his head, his jaw clenching as he looked down at her. “We can’t.”

Karen cupped his cheeks in her hands, “We _can_.” Her chest felt tight, her breathing caught somewhere in the back of her throat. They’d crossed a line and she was certain if she walked away from him now, she’d never see him again.

Frank moved off of her, turning his back to her as he raked his fingers through his short hair, exhaling heavily. “This ain’t right, ma’am. I won’t break you.”

“I’m _already_ broken. I’d like to see you try to damage me more than I’ve already been.” Karen bit out, an edge of venom to her words as she fell back against the mattress. “I’m not afraid of your darkness Frank. If I were… I wouldn’t be here right now.”

“You belong in the light.” Frank glanced back over his shoulder at her.

Karen laughed, running her hands over her face. “If _I_ thought I belonged in the light, why would I always be chasing the dark? This city is hell on earth and I’m still here, chasing the demons that dance in the night.” She sat up then, moving to sit beside him. “If I wanted anything else, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Frank stared at her for a long moment – contemplating the words she’d said. His lips moved as he murmured to himself, words she couldn’t quite make up. She was almost certain he was going to get up, but he surprised her. His lips crashed against hers as they fell back against the mattress in a tangled mess of limbs and fumbling hands.

Karen moaned against his lips as his hand slipped down between her thighs, working over the thin cotton of her underwear. Was she supposed to be embarrassed by the fact that she was soaking wet for him? She didn’t care – it felt too damn good to care about anything other than the fact that he was working his fingers beneath her underwear, stroking over sensitive flesh.

She fumbled with the front of his pants, dexterity failing her in the heat of the moment. Karen swore under her breath as she finally jerked his zipper down, popping the button and freeing his cock. Of course he went commando – that was just screamed Frank Castle to her.

His mouth was hot against her pulse point, sucking at it hard enough to leave a mark as he fucked his fingers into her. She was already trembling around him, wound up and desperate for a release.

Frank pulled his hand away just at the cusp of her release. “You’re too fuckin’ dressed.” He told her, working to get her blouse off and over her head as she did the same with his shirt. Her fingers traced over the scars and bruises on skin.

He kicked off his shoes and his pants as she shimmied out of her skirt and underwear – leaving them discarded somewhere on the floor near the mattress. She didn’t care where they were, as long as they weren’t on them.

She relished the feeling of his warm skin sliding against hers. His weight pressed her into the mattress as his hands skimmed over every inch of available skin. She wrapped her legs around his hips, urging him to grind against her, his cock hard against her aching flesh.

Frank hissed out her name, stretching her arms out above her head. “Tell me what you want Karen. _Say_ it.”

Karen bit down on her bottom lip, her lashes fluttering as she looked up at him. “I _want_ you.” She said lowly, rocking her hips against him. “I want you to fuck me. I _need_ you to fuck me.”

Frank reached down between them to line his cock up with her waiting center. He sank into her with little preamble, filling her and stretching her in one swift motion. He groaned out her name as he stilled within her, giving them _both_ a moment to get used to the sensation.

Karen’s back arched up off the bed, her nails raking over his back – leaving angry red marks in their wake. She clenched her muscles around him, urging him to start moving. “Come on.” She breathed out raggedly. “I can take it.”

Frank nodded his head. She could see the confliction in his eyes in the brief second before everything went a little hazy around the edges as he pulled back and slammed into her again. Her voice reverberated off the metal walls of the warehouse as she cried out, completely unabashedly. Frank’s breath was hot against her face, his lips brushing over hers as he moved above her. One hand was planted on the mattress beside her head, while the other was curled around her hip. She was going to be marked by him all over when they got done.

“ _Fuck_.” Karen hissed out as she hooked one leg around him, trying get _more_ of everything he had to offer her. Frank pushed her leg back down, stilling above her. She whined softly as he pulled out of her, leaving her feeling distinctly empty and completely unsated. “What are you doing?”

“Turn over.” Frank ordered, his voice low and gravely. His eyes were dark with lust, his pupils blown wide.

Karen nodded her head slowly, rolling onto her hands and knees beneath him. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her blood running hot in her veins. She’d always thought this particular position lacked intimacy, but that was far from the truth with him. There was something erotic and overwhelming about the way he filled her from behind. She felt him deeper within her, felt him stretching her deliciously.

Her fingers gripped at the sheets, seeking purchase in something as he slammed into her. He’d clearly listened to her comment that she could take it. His pace was _punishing_. It was too much and just enough all at once.

He slid his hand around her hip, fingers teasing at the flesh just above where his cock was sliding in and out of her. His fingertips lit upon her clit, sending spikes of pleasure through her, making the pleasure coil low in her belly. Her inner muscles fluttered around him, making her feel even _fuller_ of him.

Frank hissed out her name through clenched teeth, pressing his face against the back of her neck as he pushed her towards her release. She cried out beneath him, shuddering before _shattering_. She clenched around him like a vice grip. He kept thrusting into her until his own release tore from him. He slammed into her one last time as his spilled into her.

“Ah, fuck Karen.” He muttered as he slumped against her back as she sank into the mattress.

Karen laughed softly, reaching her hand behind her to stroke the back of his head. “Don’t worry about it. The pill does wonderful things.” She sighed, closing her eyes. The reality hadn’t quite caught up to her yet. She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that the weight pressing her into the mattress was Frank Castle. It seemed like some far off dream. He seemed so untouchable. _Distant_. But he’d caved the same way she had.

Frank petted his hand over her hair, “That was the first time I’ve… since…”

“Since Maria?”

“Yeah.”

Karen swallowed thickly and nodded, wiggling to get out from beneath him. She felt a twinge of doubt settling into her heart. She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d turned her over to better imagine _her_ instead of Karen beneath him. She’d had strawberry blonde hair like herself. But maybe Frank just had a type. She’d asked for it unbridled. Her fear was unfounded.

Frank moved to let her roll onto her side beside him, his brows knit in confusion. “Did I do something wrong?”

She shook her head. “No. _No_.” She assured him, cupping his cheek. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Frank. You’ve done everything right.” Karen chewed on her bottom lip. “That was better than I imagined.” She blew out a breath as she flopped onto her back, staring up at the dark warehouse above her.

“You sure I didn’t do something wrong?” He ventured curiously, but it was clear he wasn’t gonna push it.

Karen turned her head and smiled at him. “You didn’t do _anything_ wrong, Frank.” She insisted, reaching for his hand. “I just… The last thing I want is to replace Maria. Those are shoes that I’m wholly unfit to fill _ever_ and…”

Frank squeezed her hand. “You ain’t replacing her. There’s room in me for her ghost and for you, in whatever capacity you want, whatever capacity we’re even afforded.”

Karen exhaled heavily. He sounded _hopeful_ , which was an amusing sound on him. He was usually so sullen and despondent. Sex apparently worked wonders for his demeanor. But it was fleeting – _this_ was fleeting. “I’d say I keep getting myself involved with vigilantes I don’t have a chance with, but comparing you to Matt is like apples and oranges.”

Frank chuckled. “Yeah. Red and I ain’t very similar.”

“At least this is on a level playing field.”

“Did you and –”

“ _No_.” Karen retorted crisply, “Thankfully.” She laughed a little, “All that ever amounted to was lies and a few innocent kisses because Matt didn’t want it to go any further than that.” She rolled her eyes. “Probably because Elektra was around.”

Frank arched a brow. “That was a rotten situation.”

She shrugged. “That’s about status quo for my love life.” She gave him a look. “You don’t look at me and see _her_ do you?”

Frank’s eyes widened and he raked a hand over his face. “No. Not really. I won’t lie to you. The two of you are similar. Neither of you take my shit. You’re both gorgeous.” He laughed, shaking his head. “There’s similarities, but you ain’t the same as her and that’s _good_.”

Karen smiled a little. “Well, that’s good to know. I stupidly worried there… after.” She shook her head. “I overthink.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“At least you listened to me when I said I wasn’t breakable,” She made a face, trying to change the subject. “Though, I’m gonna be sitting on a pillow tomorrow at work.”

“That good huh?” Frank retorted with a cocksure grin. She liked this side of him. Cocky suited him.

“It was _very_ good. Not doing this tonight would have been a _real_ shame because you’re… _big_.” She said, widening her eyes for emphasis. Karen had a feeling that they both knew this could never go anywhere. As much as they might have wanted it to, tonight was their first and last.

Frank smiled a little. “Thanks.” He chuckled, rubbing at his cheeks as they flushed with a light tint of pink she could only barely see beneath his bruising.

Karen rolled closer to him, wrapping her arms around him as she pressed her face to his chest. “One of these days I hope to see you without a broken nose and raccoon eyes.” She teased, sighing contently.

“Yeah, that ain’t ever gonna happen.” Frank cradled the back of her head. “You gonna fall asleep on me now?”

“ _Maybe_.” Karen wanted to enjoy this night, for as long as it lasted. She’d had every intention of going home to her own bed, but the ratty mattress on the floor of a warehouse had its appeal when Frank was in the equation. There was no point in bringing up the depressing fact that after tonight they’d have to go their separate ways.

Not when they both felt good. Not when there was a few moments of happiness to be had. It wasn’t fair that she was drawn to him in a way she’d never felt before. There was no happy endings for either of them, those lives were ruined before they even met.

 


End file.
